Saturday, November 21, 2015

"We Are All One" – #Justice4Jamar and the 4th Precinct Occupation

Yesterday evening my friends Kathleen and Tim (left) and I attended the "Justice for Jamar" candlelight vigil outside the 4th precinct police station in north Minneapolis. The event, which drew around 1000 people (above) was a powerful embodiment of community and solidarity.

During the vigil a number of inspiring speeches were delivered by local and national civil rights leaders, including Cornell Brooks, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Nekima Levy-Pounds, the Minneapolis NAACP chapter president, and Mahmoud El-Kati, a former Macalester College professor and an African-American historian. The vigil also involved singing, chanting, and a march to the site a few blocks away where Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old black man, was fatally shot by police while in custody on November 15. A number of witnesses say Clark was laying on the ground and handcuffed at the moment he was shot by a police officer.

"We understand that all lives matter," Brooks told the crowd at one point, "[but] unless black lives matter, all lives can’t matter . . . We are in it for the long haul."

Following, with added images and links, is an excerpt from David Chanen's Star Tribune article on last night's vigil.

Hundreds of people of all races and backgrounds congregated Friday evening near police headquarters in north Minneapolis for an emotional rally and candlelight vigil that culminated a week of protests over officers’ fatal shooting of an unarmed black man.

The president of the national NAACP, who met with state and city leaders earlier in the day at Gov. Mark Dayton’s residence in St. Paul, was among those speaking at the peaceful rally, which many participants called the most significant and inspiring local civil rights gathering in years.

“We are not here to tell you what to do,” Cornell Brooks, head of the national NAACP, told the emotional crowd. “I believe in what’s happening in Minneapolis.”

The death of Jamar Clark, 24, shot in the head during a scuffle Sunday on the city’s North Side, has galvanized Minnesota activists — from North Side residents to Black Lives Matter activists to the NAACP — and garnered national attention. As protesters have camped outside Fourth Precinct headquarters on Plymouth Avenue N. and engaged in sometimes tense confrontations with officers, police and civic leaders have pleaded for time to thoroughly investigate the shooting, which is also being examined by federal officials and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Police have said that Clark lunged for an officer’s gun and interfered with officers and paramedics responding to a domestic dispute in which a woman had been injured. The officers involved in Clark’s death, Mark Ringgenberg, 30, and Dustin Schwarze, 28, are on paid leave.

After the rally, the group marched to the spot a few blocks away where Clark was shot. There, Nekima Levy-Pounds, the Minneapolis NAACP chapter president, said “it could have been any one of us who died.”

“This isn’t about demonizing the Police Department,” she said. “But we are going to get the truth one way or another.”

. . . Throughout Friday, the scene at precinct headquarters was peaceful, with some protesters warming themselves at campfires and donning donated hats and mittens. Among those dropping by to express support were clergy members and students from nearby Anwatin Middle School. Some protesters worked to clear the streets of debris, while others directed traffic.

Helen Williams, who has lived in north Minneapolis for more than 40 years, came to sweep the street and show her support for protesters.

Williams, who has long helped families bury their dead when they cannot afford it, said she is helping the Clark family plan for their son’s funeral. “I’m here to do my part to offer crowd control and hugs,” she said.

Several Minnesota progressive and labor groups issued statements urging a thorough and transparent investigation. State DFL Chair Ken Martin said, “It is hard to have hope for the future when it seems that our community has turned an indifferent eye to the very real and persistent issues facing communities of color in Minnesota. The DFL stands by everyone working peacefully for a transparent investigation and to bring the conversation of fairness and justice to the forefront.”

A coalition of leaders from African immigrant communities said at a news conference in Brooklyn Park that immigrant groups support protesters’ call for clarity and justice in the Clark case.

“The African community is united with our African-American brothers and sisters,” said Abdullah Kiatamba, executive director of the group African Immigrant Services. “We are all one. A harm to one is a harm to all of us.”

. . . As Friday night drew to a close, protesters remained at the site, chanting and singing peacefully. Although it appeared that the rally had helped ease tensions, questions about Clark’s death were no closer to being answered.

Following are more photographs that I took at last night's "Justice for Jamar"candlelight vigil.

Above: This image shows how protesters have "occupied" the space outside the police precinct. Along with sleeping tents, activists have set up a soup kitchen, a clothing stand, several banners, and a number of campfires on the sidewalk and in the street in front of the police station.

Above and below: Many people are demanding the release of police and surveillance videos of the shooting of Jamar Clark. Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP says that there have been "so many false narratives spun by the Minneapolis Police Department as to what has happened. . . . Enough is enough."

"We're demanding release of the tapes," Levy-Pounds said. "We're demanding reform of the police department and we are demanding justice for Jamar Clark right now."

Authorities, however, have said that there was no video of the shooting from police dashboard or body cameras. Investigators are nevertheless reviewing video from business and security cameras in the area. They also are checking witnesses' cellphones but none of those videos captured the entire incident.

Levy-Pounds is also calling for grief counselors for those who witnessed the shooting, saying that Clark's case was "just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the abuse and harassment."

I established The Wild Reed in 2006 as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed's original by-line read, "Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective." As you can see, it reads differently now. This is because my journey has, in many ways, taken me beyond, or perhaps better still, deeper into the realities that the words "progressive," "gay," and "Catholic" seek to describe.

Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe is often considered the voice of a soul pining for God or a lost love.

On September 24, 2012,Michael BaylyofCatholics for Marriage Equality MNwas interviewed by Suzanne Linton of Our World Today about same-sex relationships and why Catholics can vote 'no' on the proposed Minnesota anti-marriage equality amendment.

Readers write . . .

"I believe your blog to be of utmost importance for all people regardless of their orientation. . . . Thank you for your blog and the care and dedication that you give in bringing the TRUTH to everyone."– William

"Michael, if there is ever a moment in your day or in your life when you feel low and despondent and wonder whether what you are doing is anything worthwhile, think of this: thanks to your writing on the internet, a young man miles away is now willing to embrace life completely and use his talents and passions unashamedly to celebrate God and his creation. Any success I face in the future and any lives I touch would have been made possible thanks to you and your honesty and wisdom."– AB

"Since I discovered your blog I have felt so much more encouraged and inspired knowing that I'm not the only gay guy in the Catholic Church trying to balance my Faith and my sexuality. Continue being a beacon of hope and a guide to the future within our Church!"– Phillip

"Your posts about Catholic issues are always informative and well researched, and I especially appreciate your photography and the personal posts about your own experience. I'm very glad I found your blog and that I've had the chance to get to know you."– Crystal

"Thank you for taking the time to create this fantastic blog. It is so inspiring!"– George

"I cannot claim to be an expert on Catholic blogs, but from what I've seen, The Wild Reed ranks among the very best."– Kevin

"Reading your blog leaves me with the consolation of knowing that the words Catholic, gay and progressive are not mutually exclusive.."– Patrick

"I grieve for the Roman institution’s betrayal of God’s invitation to change. I fear that somewhere in the midst of this denial is a great sin that rests on the shoulders of those who lead and those who passively follow. But knowing that there are voices, voices of the prophets out there gives me hope. Please keep up the good work."– Peter

"I ran across your blog the other day looking for something else. I stopped to look at it and then bookmarked it because you have written some excellent articles that I want to read. I find your writing to be insightful and interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more of it. Keep up the good work. We really, really need sane people with a voice these days."– Jane Gael